Project Update #9
February 2015


#jocogateway

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

The Johnson County Gateway Phase 2 Project has been under construction since the spring of 2014. Almost everywhere you turn there are orange barrels on the roads. Below is a recap of the major work that started in 2014:  

 

    


CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS

College Boulevard Widening: College Boulevard between Ridgeview Road and Renner Boulevard is currently being widened to four lanes.

Traffic Impacts: There have been, and will continue to be, short-term daily lane closures on College Boulevard and adjacent intersections as widening work progresses.

Completion Date: All four lanes of College Boulevard are anticipated to open to traffic by spring 2015, with some additional finishing work into summer.
Benefit: Improves College Boulevard to a continuous four-lane roadway which serves as a major thoroughfare for the region. This is one of the last sections of College Boulevard to be improved. The widened roadway can also be used as a detour route during the remaining Gateway Project construction
.   

 

K-10 & Ridgeview Road Interchange: The existing bridge structure is being reconstructed to a new diverging diamond interchange (DDI) without the interchange shutting down for any long periods of time.

Traffic Impacts: There will continue to be short-term daytime and overnight closures at the interchange. The next step to completing the new DDI will start in mid-February and will include switching traffic to the new bridge on the east half of Ridgeview Road and demolishing the old bridge on the west half.
Completion Date: The DDI is scheduled to be completed by July 1, 2015.
Benefit: Improves safety and efficiency with the upgraded diverging diamond style interchange. It will also accommodate additional traffic from area development.

 

I-435 Reconstruction West of U.S. 69: This work includes widening westbound I-435 to four lanes plus auxiliary lanes and replacing the pavement from U.S. 69 to the K-10 split.
Traffic Impacts: Construction work in this area is being done while maintaining three through-lanes plus an auxiliary lane of traffic to minimize traveler inconvenience. In mid-to late February there will be a 10-day closure of the westbound I-435 far left lane (lane between barriers) to construct the bridge piers for the I-435 and I-35 flyover ramp bridges. There will continue to be daily off-peak lane closures and varying traffic shifts into 2015.
Completion Date: Reconstruction work on westbound I-435 has been ongoing since early summer 2014 and will continue into 2015.
Benefit: Reduces maintenance with new pavement, improves efficiency (improved travel times/decreased congestion) and continues the westerly progression of widening I-435 from the east.
 

 

I-435 between Renner Boulevard and Lackman Road:  Work includes clearing and grading in this area for a new detention basin and preparing the area for construction work on the new eastbound I-435 collector-distributor road.

Traffic Impacts: There will continue to be short-term daytime lane closures in the area with much of the work taking place in the highway right of way.   

Completion Date: In mid- 2015 paving work for the collector-distributor road will begin.

Benefit: Improves safety by adding the collector-distributor road, which will reduce weaving for people traveling through on I-435 or exiting Lackman Road and I-35. 

 

Eastbound K-10 to Northbound I-435 Interchange Area: A new two-lane flyover ramp bridge is being built to connect eastbound K-10 to northbound I-435. Shifting the flyover bridge to the west allows the existing ramp to remain open during construction.   

Traffic Impacts:There will continue to be short-term daytime lane closures in the area. There will also be overnight closures on eastbound and westbound K-10 near I-435 during the first few months of 2015 to set bridge girders for the new flyover ramp.  

Completion Date: The new two-lane flyover ramp for EB K-10 to NB I-435 is anticipated to be complete and open to traffic in the summer of 2015.    
Benefit:
Improves safety and reduces congestion due to increased traffic.

 

 


WHAT'S PLANNED FOR 2015

If you thought there was a lot of work in 2014, you haven't seen anything yet. In addition to finishing up the work that started last year, (noted on the section above) there is still much to be done on I-435, I-35, K-10 and many of the local roads like Renner Boulevard and Lackman Road. There will be several long-term closures of roads and interchanges during 2015 as well as a few short-term weekend (24-48 hour closures) of the interstates in select locations.

This is a representative map of where major construction efforts
will occur during 2015-2016, it doesn't reflect the final design. 

 

2015 Construction Phasing
  • K-10 & Renner Boulevard Interchange
  • Eastbound I-435 Reconstruction East
  • Eastbound Collector-Distributor Road
  • I-435 & Lackman Road Interchange-South Side
  • I-435 Reconstruction West of I-35
  • Northbound I-35 Widening
2016 Construction Phasing
  • I-35 & 95th Street Interchange
  • I-435 & Lackman Road Interchange-North Side
  • Westbound Collector-Distributor Road
  • I-435 Reconstruction West of I-35
 

 

 1)  Renner Boulevard and K-10 Interchange

 

Several phases of work are planned in this area to improve the interchange. The first step started January 20 with a 60-day closure of the southbound right lane of Renner Boulevard to relocate the large water main and begin construction on the bridge piers. Additional closures to Renner Boulevard and access to K-10 will occur following this initial closure. The general timeframes are listed below and we will continue to provide updates as the actual closure dates are identified. Next steps in this location include:
  • Mid-March 2015 thru mid-June/July 2015
    Renner Boulevard will be closed in both directions south of K-10. The entrance and exit ramps for K-10 eastbound will be closed. The entrance and exit ramps for K-10 westbound will still be open, but will only be accessible from Renner Boulevard north of K-10. Marked detour routes will be provided. Please note, Ridgeview Road will still be under construction, but will remain open to traffic. Motorists will be able to access businesses along Renner Boulevard during this closure.  
  • July 2015 thru August 2015
    Renner Boulevard will be closed in both directions at K-10. All ramps for K-10 at Renner Boulevard will be closed. Detour routes providing access to businesses on Renner Boulevard will remain from I-435 through the Lackman Road interchange, and from K-10 through the Ridgeview interchange and from 95th Street and I-435. Motorists will be able to access businesses along Renner Boulevard during this time.
By Fall 2015, the Renner Boulevard and K-10 interchange construction is scheduled to be complete and fully open to traffic.   

2)    Lackman Road near I-435

 

Intermittent lane closures on Lackman Road will occur throughout 2015 and 2016 to accommodate bridge construction, street widening and utility relocations. Closures of the eastbound ramps will occur during 2015 and the westbound ramps will be closed in late 2016.   

 

3)    Pflumm Road at I-35 Bridge


Pflumm Road at I-35 will close in the late spring/early summer months so utilities can be moved. Pflumm Road will be reconstructed and widening work will begin on I-35. Lenexa Drive, southeast of Pflumm Road, is expected to close for about a month in the summer during the I-35 widening work in the area.

4)    Eastbound I-435 Reconstruction

 

The improvements include widening and reconstructing I-435 to four lanes plus auxiliary lanes from K-10 to U.S. 69. Work on eastbound I-435 will start in mid-to late 2015 when the westbound portion is complete. Work will continue into 2016.   

 

5)    I-35 and I-435 New Two-Lane Flyover Ramps

 

Construction crews have been working on the flyover ramp bridge piers for several months. In spring, the westbound I-435 to southbound I-35 and eastbound I-435 to northbound I-35 flyover bridge girders will be constructed. This work will require overnight or weekend closures of I-435 and I-35. In the early fall, crews will pour the bridge decks.

This fall, westbound I-435 to northbound I-35 ramp will be closed for approximately one month, along with other intermittent lane and ramp closures as needed.    

 

6)    I-35 near 95th Street


In 2015, there will be a full weekend closure of I-35 from I-435 to 95th Street. Schedule and detour routes are still being finalized. We will provide advance notification for this closure. The interchange improvements planned for 95th Street and I-35 are slated to begin in early 2016.

In late spring 2015, work will begin to add an additional lane to northbound I-35 from I-435 to 95th Street. This work will continue through 2015.

 



Schedule information
 
Regarding these described time frames and durations: please understand that this is a fast moving project with several moving parts and variables, including the weather. This is an estimated schedule. Actual start and end dates may be sooner or later than noted above. We will work to keep you updated on changes to the schedule and let you know when dates have been set. In addition to closures noted, there will be daily lane closures throughout the area.  
 
 
What we heard:
Online survey responses 
 

The Johnson County Gateway communications survey gathered input from the public on how well the Johnson County Gateway Team is communicating about the project. The survey was available from mid-October to early November 2014. We received 514 responses from self-selected users. The results provided our communications team with feedback to better communicate project issues and concerns.

  • Respondents are using a variety of tools to get information about the Johnson County Gateway Project. No one tool is singularly effective. Therefore you will continue to see project information via:
    • Text message/email traffic alerts
    • Johnson County Gateway Project updates
    • Media
    • Social media tools (Twitter and Facebook)
    • Johnson County Gateway Project website
    • KC SCOUT
    • Information that is most import to people is the daily traffic impacts and alerts. The communications team provides daily text alerts and Twitter notifications of closures. We have modified our alerts to provide more options for what information you may want, like information that only impacts peak travel times in the morning and evening versus all lane closures every day.
    • Updated graphics and maps. We've updated the website to provide better navigation and maps. There will be additional upgrades and graphics moving forward. Also, this spring, we will have a 3-D video to show how the project will look when work is completed by the end of 2016.
 

  

 

Reuse & Recycling
On the project 

It may surprise some people to know, even on a project this size, every piece of material used on the project is tracked. As much as possible, the contractor will try to reuse or recycle materials including steel, asphalt and concrete. Trees uprooted for new grades, interstate expansion and walls will be chipped for mulch and used for erosion control. In the month of December 2014 alone, Gateway Interchange Constructors (project contractor) recycled:

Over 40,000 pounds of steel.

Over 5,000 tons of concrete GIC crushes and reuses each week in backfill and other aggregate, on average.

Over 7,000 tons of asphalt material GIC has reclaimed (project to date).

 

 

  

 

 
WAYS TO STAY INFORMED  
 
The Johnson County Gateway team has several ways to stay informed about construction. Visit the project website: www.jocogateway.com . You can sign up for text alerts, electronic newsletters, weekly updates, Twitter updates, connect project and construction updates on the project website.  
 
Project communication will be shared via:    

  

 
If you have questions regarding the project please contact:

Johnson County Gateway Project Office at 913-577-0000 

 

Stay informed about daily traffic changes by signing up for text alerts sent directly to your mobile phone.
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